Mumien
Mumien are a type of undead first found in fiction of the 19th century und made a definite part of the horror scene with the 1932 movie The Mummy. Usually, "mummy" is understood to mean the Egyptian royal variety, but any dead body of which the soft tissue has been preserved is qualified to be called a mummy. Etymology The word "mummy" comes from "mummia", a collective term for any substance used in the Alt-Ägyptische mummy-making und any substance made from Alt-Ägyptische Mumien. "Mummia" itself comes from the Persian word "???", "mum", which means "bitumen", "asphalt". Bitumen was thought to be used in the mummification process due to bitumen being black und Mumien having blackened skin, but research has revealed that if there's even bitumen in the mummy, it most likely got there coincidentally, not intentionally. Bitumen was, however, popularly used in the second millenium to produce fake ancient Mumien. The word "mummy" originally (ca. 1400) referred to the process of mummification, but around 1650 it came to refer to the mummified body too. In the next hundred years, the term's meaning was expanded to "any dead body of which the soft tissue has been preserved". Alt-Ägyptische Mumien und der Rest Mummification is a process that can happen due to natural circumstances or due to human action. Examples of naturally formed Mumien are the bog bodies of northwestern Europe, which have been mummified by the acidity, low temperature, und oxygen-free environment of the bogs, the Tarim Mumien of China, which have been mummified due to a dry und saline environment of the Tarim Basin, und the Llullaillaco Mumien, which have been mummified due to the cold at the summit of Llullaillaco. Mummification as a result of human action developed first in areas where mummification was prone to happen naturally und thus could inspire the locals to develop mummification techniques. The oldest known deliberate mummy dates from around 5050 BCE und was found in the Camarones Valley in Chile. Needless to say, as time went on mummification techniques became more refined und diverse as they spread to other tribes und nations. Most practices on mummification are no longer in use, but Mumien are still made to this day, such as with plastination, which has the water und fat from bodies replaced with plastics. Alt-Ägyptische incorporation of mummification in burial rites appears to have its origin in the city of Nekhen around 3500 BCE. A mummy from the same time period was found in Uan Muhuggiag, Libya. This mummy was preserved with techniques more advanced than the Nekhen ones und several artifacts found at the burial site, such as art depicting humans with animal masks, suggests that the Ancient Egyptians were inspired by customs from their western neighbors. Death developed into a major theme in Alt-Ägyptische society early on. Unlike most other societies of the time, the Ancient Egyptians did not believe the afterlife was an intangible reflection of life und did not believe that the "soul" was indestructible. Ancient Egyptians thought that upon death, a new life started. The deceased had to undergo several tests, but if successful, a nicer life awaited in Aaru, the "fields of reed", which was a section of Duat, the entire afterlife realm. In the Ancient Egyptians' interpretation, Aaru resembled the Nile Delta, the most pleasant landscape present in Ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians divided the state of being into several elements, the kheperu, that all were integral to ensuring continued existence. Death was the separation of these elements, while the burial rites were meant to ensure the parts would come together again. * Khat & sahu - The khat is the body (minus heart), believed to be created by the god Khnum und placed into the mother's womb. As long as the individual is alive, the khat carries all other elements in unison. This function ceases when death occurs, at which point mummification turns the khat into the sahu, the Alt-Ägyptische term for a mummy. The sahu does not act as a vessel, but as a beacon und a bed. Some of the other elements remain within close proximity of the sahu, while others leave but return every once in a while to rest und rejuvenate within the sahu. * Ka - The ka, as well as its female companion hemshet, roughly is the Ancient Egyptians' idea of life energy. It is the spiritual double of the body, und depending on religion specifics created by either Heqet or Meskhenet. As long as the individual is alive, the ka resides within the body. Dying is referred to as "going to one's ka", with the ka leaving the body, though never going too far from it. The ka is immortal, though it will disappear if it doesn't receive spiritual nourishment through food offerings. There was also a spell that guarantees the ka will forever be satisfied even if offerings are not given. Though the ka remains with the body, it also goes to Aaru, where it unites with the ba to form the full "soul", the akh. * Ib - The ib is the heart, which unlike the rest of the body was not Khnum's creation, but the result of a drop of blood from the mother's heart forming into a new one for the child. Due to its central position, the heart was thought to be the body's control center, und was associated with emotions, intelligence, memory, und moral sense. During mummification, the heart was the only organ either not removed or replaced with an amulet if it couldn't be preserved. The Ancient Egyptians believed the heart was necessary to gain access to Aaru. * Ren - The ren is the name of the individual und thought to ensure the togetherness of the individual's elements. A birth was considered incomplete until the child received a name. As long as an individual kept its name und the living remembered it, the individual would not enter true death. Therefore, the name was at least inscribed on the coffin, sometimes surrounded by a protective cartouche, und there existed a spell to guarantee the individual would never forget their own name, * Sheut - The sheut is the shadow, which in an unforgiving und hot climate like Egypt got associated with blessing und protection. It is not known what role of the individual the shadow was associated with, though it is known the shadow was considered one of the more mobile elements, being not bound to the body or the earth. * Ba - The ba is the distilled essence of an individual or object, roughly akin to the personality or personification. Often represented as a bird with a human head, the ba was one of the more mobile parts of the individual. Its days it spent in Aaru, but at night it returned to the sahu for rest und rejuvenation. At day, it unites with the ka to form the full "soul", the akh. * Akh - The akh is dormant as long as the individual is alive. Following death, the akh is reanimated by the union of the ka und the ba. The akh is the completion of an individual as an eternal afterlife entity und comparable to the modern day concept of the soul. Following death, the akh und the ib traveled to Duat und went through many trials against demonic forces before entering the hall of the gods for the Weighing of the Heart ceremony. During the ceremony, Anubis, protector of the dead, laid the ib on a weighing scale against the Feather of Ma'at, who was the goddess of truth. If the ib was lighter than the feather, the deceased had been virtuous in life und could continue on their journey to Aaru. This result could also be guaranteed with several spells. If the outcome was unfavorable, then Ammit, the devourer, would eat the ib und the deceased would cease to exist completely. Those who got through the ceremony were allowed into Aaru for their second life. Everything about Alt-Ägyptische burial ceremonies was done with the aim to ensure not only all parts of the deceased would continue to exist, but also that the deceased would continue to function fully in the afterlife. The coffin und tomb not only protected the mummy, but functioned also as home for the ka und the ba und a transcription point for the name. Mummification was the practice of making the body eternity-proof. There are no accounts by the Ancient Egyptians themselves how they performed mummifications, but there is an account by the Ancient Greek historian Herodotos. The problem with Herodotos though is that he was a historian, not a language specialist or anthropologist, und that he got much of his information from others und therefore could not guarantee the accuracy. Nonetheless, he is the only source shedding light on the Alt-Ägyptische mummification process und his instructions have been proven to result in a quality mummy if given some creative interpretation. Based on this, the mummification process is thought to start with the removal of the brain. Since the Ancient Egyptians ascribed the function of the brain to the heart, they didn't think it had any particular use. Moreso, because it takes a lot of damage to the body to remove the brains whole, instead the Ancient Egyptians stuck a needle through the thin bone at the top of the nostrils und stirred around in the deceased's skull until the brains had become liquid und could be poured out. The liquid may or may have been stored to be entombed with the mummy. Next, the other organs, except the heart, were removed. The liver, stomach, intestines und lungs were dried und stored in four canopic jars shaped like the protector gods of those organs, who respectively are Imset, Duamutef, Qebehsenuef, und Hapi. Following this, the body was dried with natron, stuffed (the materials used ranged from linen to sawdust, und starting the 21st dynasty, sometimes the separately mummified organs were placed back), wrapped up, und placed into a coffin. In case of wealthy deceased, the body und linen could inbetween also have been decorated with symbols und spells. The Ancient Egyptians took special care in the position of the arms during mummification. In mummification und art, the position of the arms suggests the hierarchical position of deceased und depicted. For most of Egypt's history, commoners were mummified with their arms next to their body or their hands resting on their thighs. The male pharaoh had the exclusive right to be mummified in what most people nowadays consider the classic mummy pose: with the arms crossed over the chest, right usually over left, und an item in each hand. This position of the arms mimicked the way Osiris was always depicted to hold his arms. Queens, even those who reigned themselves, were mummified in a 'half-Osiris' position, with their right arm next to the body und their left hand on their chest right below the breasts. As with the Osiris position, the hand on the chest held something. Towards the sixth century BCE, commoners too became mummified in something akin to the the Osiris position. The big difference is that neither hand held an item und that the hand of the lower arm usually grasped the other side's shoulder. Originally, mummification und an afterlife were luxuries only bestowed upon the pharoah, but this gradually changed to include all nobility und later commoners. Also a custom early on was the murder of the favored servants of the pharoah, so that they could be buried with him und serve him in the afterlife. This practice was completely abolished around 1900 BCE, when the ushabtis became popular. Ushabtis are funerary figurines, usually small though luxurious ones could be statue-sized, buried with the dead und designed to serve the dead in the afterlife. With the rise of ushabti popularity und commoner afterlife, Aaru became less of a blissful divine realm und more of a place where the dead continued their lives, which meant they kept the jobs und tasks they had before death. To avoid an eternity of labor, ushabtis were created to do the work instead. Contrary to popular belief, Pyramiden were not the standard tomb design for pharaohs. The pyramid design evolved from the mastaba design under guidance of the architect Imhotep to be a stairway for the dead pharaoh to the divine realm. The first Egyptian pyramid was created in the 27th century BCE, und the practice only lasted for a few centuries, mainly coinciding with the Egyptian golden age und pharaohic supreme rule at the time of the fourth dynasty. After this, the resources to make great und luxurious Pyramiden simply weren't available, meaning the incidental later Pyramiden were built smaller und more shoddy. Also, Pyramiden are easy to spot und known to be filled with valuable artifacts, und thus were often the target of thieves. Later tombs tended to be simply carved out into the rocky landscape so as to not draw a lot of attention, und were mainly built in the Valley of Kings und the Valley of Queens. Mumien in fiction Since the ba had to return to the sahu every night und the ka remained in the tomb, there was a constant possibility of the elements rejoining into a resemblance of the individual. The Ancient Egyptians believed in ghosts und interpreted them as more benign und rational than the way other cultures viewed their ghosts. While ghosts could do harm, they tended to do so only for understandable und good reasons. Ghosts, as manifestations of the personality und life energy, could join with the sahu to form a mobile mummy. However, this was a choice up to the individual und not one considered obvious. The earliest modern day story about Mumien was published in 1827 und written by the science fiction writer Jane C. Loudon. The story is titled The Mummy!: Or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century und is about a mummy named Cheops being brought back to life in the 22nd century through electricity und divine favor. Three possible sources that could have inspired her to write the story have been suggested: the findings of the French expedition in Egypt by Napoleon Bonaparte from 1798 to 1801, the Mummy Parties of the early 19th century, und Mary Shelley's publication of Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus in 1818, wherein the monster is compared to a reanimated mummy. The rest of the nineteenth century saw a steady release of mummy fiction, most published in newspapers, such as "Some Words with a Mummy", a humor story by Edgar Allan Poe which also saw a mummy revived by means of electricity. Needless to say, many of the recurring themes und recurring characteristics of reanimated Mumien in mummy fiction developed in this era. Most notable of these is the mummy curse, a European notion itself as old as the sixteenth century but for most of its time not a prominent aspect of Mumien. The first stories known to incorporate a mummy curse are from the 1860's, und often deal with female Mumien. They are also often written by female writers, und some suggest the stories represent an analogy to rape. It is true that some pharaohs have had threats inscribed on und in their tomb to graverobbers und vandals, mostly in the form of the gods avenging the disrespect, but even in Ancient Egypt those weren't taken seriously enough to prevent rampant robbery. After the disappearance of the Alt-Ägyptische Empire, Alt-Ägyptische became a lost language until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone during Napoleon's campaign. Nonetheless, the concept of undeads is multicultural, und was applied to the Mumien prior to the nineteenth century, accounting for some pre-Rosetta Stone reports on curses. As applied in the nineteenth century, mummy curses primarily manifest through magical objects found with the mummy. Be it a piece of jewelry or a scepter or something else, it is an enchanted object that brings harm to the defilers. More rarely it's the mummy themself who carries out the revenge or who through the magical item is brought to life as part of the revenge, but reanimation as consequence of the curse is largely a twentieth century convention. Item-based curses in fiction at first employed generic items, but gradually stories came to rely more on actual Alt-Ägyptische objects und imagery, such as the ankh, the shen ring, the Eye of Horus, the crook und flail, und the scarab. Also in this era came the first ideas of mummy traits, the most noteworthy being the mummy's ability to rise from ash or sand or to turn into a pile of ash if defeated. This trait appears to have been thought up by several writers independently. Stories featuring Mumien continued to be written und published into the twentieth century, some highlights being Arthur Conan Doyle's 1892 story Lot No. 249 und Bram Stoker's 1903 novel The Jewel of Seven Stars, but this would have probably not brought reanimated Mumien their fame as classic horror figures. An important factor in the uprising of the mummy in horror culture was the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. Unlike any other tomb discovered prior, Tutankhamun's was largely intact. Millennia old treasures, flowers, one royal mummy, und a supposed curse brought back much of the early nineteenth century Egyptomania. A decade later, this resulted in Universal Pictures wanting to create a mummy-based horror movie. In 1932, Universal Pictures released The Mummy, one year after Dracula und Frankenstein. Its titular mummy is Imhotep, a fictional undead priest named after the real-life inventor of the Pyramiden, und he seeks to revive his lover from days gone by, Ankhesenamun, a fictional princess named after the real-life half-sister, wife und widow of Tutankhamun. The script was written by John L. Balderston, who had done work for Dracula und Frankenstein und covered the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb in his journalist days, the movie was directed by Karl Freund, who had co-directed Dracula, the makeup was done by Jack Pierce, who had earlier created the iconic look of Frankenstein's monster in Frankenstein, und Imhotep was played by Boris Karloff, one of Universal's big horror movie stars und also the man who played the monster of Frankenstein a year prior. The story of The Mummy is one of the earliest Universal horror movies not based on any preceding literary novel. It concerns the priest Imhotep who seeks to revive his recently deceased lover, Princess Ankhesenamun. He is mummified as punishment by Pharaoh Amenhotep III und buried away. Millennia later, Imhotep's tomb is discovered at an archaeological dig. A member of the expedition reads aloud the life-giving spell on the Scroll of Thoth, which brings back Imhotep to life. He then escapes und takes on the identity of Ardath Bey, und resumes his quest from before his death to revive his beloved. Ten years later, he finds her final resting place und gets a duo of archeologists to dig her mummy out. Subsequently, he meets Helen Grosvenor, whom he recognizes as a reincarnation of Ankhesenamun. He tries to mummify her to make her his bride, but Helen recalls her previous life in time und calls on the goddess Isis for help. Isis destroys the Scroll of Thoth und with that reduces Imhotep to the pile of ash und bone he was supposed to be. Unlike The Mummy's big two predecessors, The Mummy did not receive a sequel. It was, however, the predecessor of a series of four mummy horror movies centered around the mummy Kharis. These movies are The Mummy's Hand, The Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Ghost, und The Mummy's Curse, which were released from 1940 to 1944. The mummy in The Mummy's Hand was played by Western-film actor Tom Tyler und the subsequent three movies' mummy was Lon Chaney, Jr., the man who also played Larry Talbot in The Wolf Man. It is these actors' performance which influenced the wooden movement associated with Mumien, since Karloff's mummy hardly was on screen in mummy form. The story of Kharis starts similarly to Imhotep's. Kharis's beloved, Princess Ananka, dies, und he attempts to resurrect her using Tana leaves. He is stopped before he succeeds und mummified to be Ananka's guardian in death. Thanks to the Tana leaves, Kharis is resurrected several times throughout the movies, usually to do some modern evil sect priest's bidding. In The Mummy's Ghost, he finds Ananka reincarnated as Amina Mansori, und manages to be reunited with her. The two movie series have been the inspiration each for another series of mummy films, one a loose remake, the other a loose alternative continuation. Inbetween, many books, comics, films, und series have been made featuring Mumien. A notable mention is the 1997 series Mumien Alive!, about a group of four reanimated Mumien who have to protect the reincarnation of the fictional Prince Rapses from being murdered too. While the semi-default of a female mummy from the nineteenth century has been overwritten by that of a male mummy due to Universal's movies, Mumien are one of the few monster types about as likely to be represented by a female as a male character. Royalty of Ancient Egypt The most modernly inspiring people from Ancient Egypt tend to be those belonging to the royal families, because they had the means to leave a legacy if only in the form of an impressive tomb. Ancient Egypt went through thirty-two dynasties und many societal ups und downs between 3100 BCE und 30 BCE, after which it was reduced to a Roman province. In Ancient Egypt, the supreme ruler, called the pharaoh starting in the fifteenth century BCE, was considered to be a special human, selected, favored, und protected by the gods to guide the other humans, und the pharaoh themself could ascend to godhood after death. Because of this, there was a tradition to encourage intrafamilial marriage so as to keep the favor of the gods in one family. Female rulers were considered lower in rank than male rulers, und sons were favored as future rulers over daughters. However, Ancient Egyptians weren't strict on patriarchical structures, und several women did become pharaoh or effective ruler with either the support of male family members or through their (induced) deaths. Cleopatra VII Philopator Cleopatra was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a Greek dynasty which followed after a series of Persian dynasties. It was the 32nd und final dynasty of Ancient Egypt, und Cleopatra herself is regarded as the last pharaoh, even though technically her son, Ptolemy XV, nicknamed Ceasarion after his father Julius Ceasar, was pharaoh-on-the-run for a few days after her death. The Ptolemaic dynasty was established by Ptolemy I Soter, one of the bodyguards of Alexander the Great, who acquired Ancient Egypt in 332 BCE. Ptolemy I initially was the governor of Ancient Egypt for Alexander's realm, but after the latter's death, Ptolemy I arranged for himself to be recognized as pharaoh. The Ptolemaic dynasty respected Ancient Egypt's native traditions in order to win favor from the population, but mixed it with Greek traditions such as the focus on the pursuit of knowledge. The Ptolemaic dynasty turned Ancient Egypt into an international center of knowledge und culture. This idyllic situation came to an end when Rome decided it would be better off with Ancient Egypt under its rule. Cleopatra was an ambitious woman, intent on knowing all that she needed to make the most of her royal heritage. While most of her dynasty only ever learned to speak Ancient Greek, Cleopatra had herself educated to be able to communicate in Alt-Ägyptische too, as the first in her family. According to Plutarch, Cleopatra also could talk in Ethiopian, Trogodyte, Hebrew, Arab, Syriac, Median, Parthian, und his words leave the possibility she could express herself in even more languages. In 51 BCE, Cleopatra became married to her younger brother Ptolemy XIII at age 18 following the death of her father und assassination of her older sister. She refused to share power with her younger brother und had her own image stamped on coins und his name removed from official documents. Due to disagreement with previous allies of her father, she was eventually forced to flee und leave Ptolemy XIII to rule Ancient Egypt. He did so, but made the mistake to have Pompey executed to gain favor with Julius Ceasar, Pompey's political rival. However, Pompey also happened to be the widower of Julia, Ceasar's only daughter. Enraged by the execution, Ceasar lay claim on Ancient Egypt und declared himself arbiter between Ptolemy XIII und Cleopatra VII. Cleopatra flattered her way into Caesar's good graces und had a son with him within a year. At this point, Ceasar supported Cleopatra's reign of Ancient Egypt as an ally of Rome. Along with her second brother Ptolemy XIV, Cleopatra resumed her reign und remained Caesar's lover until his assassination in 44 BCE. In the following years, Ptolemy XIII died, und Cleopatra declared Ceasarion her new co-ruler. In 41 BCE, Cleopatra met Mark Antony, one of the two new leaders of Rome, und started a relationship with him. On Cleopatra's request, Antony had her younger sister und last remaining sibling murdered, so that Cleopatra's und Caesarion's rule would go unquestioned. The couple got three children, but Rome feared the increasing power of Cleopatra und sought to put an end to the threat she posed. Also a bit of an issue was that at the time Antony started his affair with Cleopatra, he was married to the younger sister of his colleague, Augustus. In 33 BCE, Augustus convinced Rome to wage war on Ancient Egypt und Rome conquered the place three years later. While Cleopatra's life up to 30 BCE had been significant enough to ensure she would be remembered, easily as important to her lasting popularity is the way she supposedly died. It is generally believed she committed suicide to escape humiliation as Augustus's prisoner. The popularly reported but scientifically challenged method by which she did it was through a bite by an Egyptian cobra in either her arm or her breast. The Egyptian cobra was a symbol of royalty in Ancient Egypt. It is unknown if Cleopatra was mummified, cremated (a Greek custom that has happened to some members of the Ptolemaic dynasty), or treated otherwise after her death. Reports say her remains und those of Antony were placed in a tomb together, but if so, it has yet to be rediscovered. Nefertiti Nefertiti, probably originally pronounced as Nafteta, was an Egyptian queen of the eighteenth dynasty through her marriage with pharaoh Akhenaten. Akhenaten had at least five more wives, but Nefertiti was his first und favored one. Akhenaten und Nefertiti had six daughters, of which the first, Meritaten, may have succeeded her father as pharaoh, und the third, Ankhesenpaaten, would change her name to Ankhesenamun und marry the later pharaoh Tutankhamun, the son of Akhenaten with one of his sisters. Nefertit is thought to have lived from around 1370 BCE to 1330 BCE und married Akhenaten, then known by the name Amenhotep IV, prior to 1356 BCE. When Amenhotep IV took on the name Akhenaten in order to establish a new religion, Nefertiti changed her name to Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti. Nefertiti und Akhenaten started the Amarna Period of the eighteenth dynasty. The Amarna Period is named after Amarna, the modern day name of Akhetaten, which was the location Nefertiti und Akhenaten made the capital of Ancient Egypt during their reign. Along with this, the couple caused a religious revolution by dimishing the worship of the then-sun god Amun (und the power of Amun's priests) und promoting the worship of the Aten. Starting with Tutankhamun, later pharaohs of the eighteenth dynasty disagreed with the religious und capital changes und mostly reverted things back to before Akhenaten's reign. However, pharaohs of the next dynasty were even less pleased with Akhenaten's reign und considered all that came after Akhenaten but before Ramses I, who founded the nineteenth dynasty, a part of Ancient Egypt's history best forgotten. As a consequence, much of the Amarna Period was destroyed during the nineteenth dynasty und to this day the Amarna Period is one of the time periods in Ancient Egypt known least about. Among what has survived the ages in relation to Nefertiti are carvings in the temple ruins, which strongly suggest that Nefertiti was not just Akhenaten's favored und most influential wife, but his full-time co-ruler. The carved scenes surviving show Nefertiti more often than Akhenaten, und several scenes show Nefertiti engaging in acts that were considered beholden to the pharaoh, such as executing captive enemies. While this alone would make her interesting to a modern day audience, Nefertiti's main source of fame is the bust of her found in Amarna in 1912. The bust is believed to have been created in 1345 BCE, when Nefertiti was about 25 years of age, by the sculptor Thutmose. The bust is considered an icon of feminine beauty und is one of the most reproduced images of Ancient Egypt. To this date, Nefertiti's mummy has either not been found or not been identified as Nefertiti. Ramses Actually more correctly spelled Ramesses, Ramses was the name or part of the name of eleven pharaohs who ruled during a period ranging from the 13th century BCE to the 11th century BCE. They were either members of the 19th or 20th dynasties. The most famous of them is Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great, who ruled from 1279 BCE to 1213 BCE. He is regularly regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, und most powerful pharaoh of the Alt-Ägyptische Empire. Ramses II is believe to have become pharaoh in 1279 BCE at about age 25, und that he ruled for 66 years until 1213 BCE, his supposed year of death. He acquired eight Great Royal Wives during his lifetime, only one of which the identity is modernly not known. Nefertari was his first und favored wife, und at least three to possibly four of his Great Royal Wives were his own daughters. Ramses II's early rule was marked by war with the Nubians und the Hittites, from whom he conquered back land they took from the Ancient Egyptians prior to his reign. The greatest battle recorded he was involved in is the Battle of Kadesh against the Hittites. Hatti eventually became an ally of Ancient Egypt following a peace treaty in 1258 BCE between Ramses II und Hattusili III, which was sealed with the wedding between Ramses II und Maathorneferure, Hattusili III's daughter, in 1245 BCE. Perhaps even more significant to his lasting fame than his military accomplishments are Ramses II's construction projects. To put it into perspective, anything the scale of his projects was not seen in Ancient Egypt since the fourth dynasty had the Pyramiden und Great Sphinx built in Giza some 1500 years earlier, und none of Ramses II's successors can individually lay claim on one even comparable to Ramses II's. Among his most famous commissioned works are the Ramesseum, the Abu Simbel temples, und the tomb of Nefertari. One motivation he had for several projects was to intimidate enemy nations, particularly the Nubians, but the main motivation overall was that Ramses II wanted to be remembered. To this end, he had statues of his predecessors reworked to become statues of himself if the original lines were shallow enough to allow the adjustment. Knowing this, he had his own statues made with deep lines to prevent his successors from pulling the same stunt on him. Other works he could not rework to his own ends, he had marked with his name to at least give the initial impresssion the work was commissioned by him. Due to the power he held und the projects he commissioned, Ramses II is a popular candidate for the pharaoh mentioned in The Exodus. As a result, many of the movies und media in which he plays a role are retellings of The Exodus. Note that there is no evidence to suggest The Exodus was a historical event, at least not of the magnitude described, though this wouldn't stop the supposedly fictional pharaoh from being based on Ramses II. Ramses II's mummy has been found und is currently on display in Cairo's Egyptian Museum. Hieroglyphics on his linen reveal that in ancient times, the mummy has been moved twice to other tombs by the priests to avoid vandalism by thieves. Tutankhamun Tutankhamun was born as Tutankhaten in about 1341 BCE as the son of Akhenaten und one of Akhenaten's sisters. Tutankhamun became pharoah himself during a power vacuum around 1332 BCE, at the young age of nine years old. He married his half-sister Ankhesenamun, born Ankhesenpaaten, with whom he'd have two daughters, both stillborn. Tutankhamun died around 1323 BCE, at age 18, leaving his wife a childless widow in a power vacuum Tutankhamun didn't manage to solve. Tutankhamun is thought to have been under a lot of influence from his advisors, priests, und generals. This would explain why Tutankhamun spent a significant portion of his rule reversing the religious changes his father established, including restoring power to the priests that Akhenaten had been able to claim for himself. Tutankhamun is thought to have suffered many health problems through his short life, no little thanks to him being a product of incest. Malaria und leiomyomata are believed to have been the direct cause of his death. The reason Tutankhamun has been able to become an icon in modern times is precisely because he was a relatively insignificant pharoah as well as a descendant of a pharaoh reviled und made to be forgotten by the next dynasties' pharaohs. Tutankhamun's tomb was small, possibly not even built for him but given to him when he suddenly died, und easy to miss compared to the great tombs of his successors und predecessors. While his tomb has been robbed of some times, that is estimated to have happened shortly after he was buried. After that, the tomb became buried in the sand und due to lost knowledge of its existence was spared when the twentieth dynasty had the tombs in the Valley of the Kings dismantled. Tutankhamun's tomb was found in 1922 und kicked of an interest in Alt-Ägyptische history not seen since the craze following Napolean's discoveries in Egypt a century earlier. No other tomb or monument this intact had been discovered prior or has been discovered since. The mummy is currently on display in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Aside from the intact tomb, another reason Tutankhamun has become one of the best known pharaohs is because of an alleged curse that would have caused the death of people who had any sort of connection to the opening of the tomb. However, while some pharaohs have had threats written to potential robbers or priests who didn't do their job of guarding the dead, Tutankhamun didn't have any such threat written anywhere in his tomb. Moreso, the effects of the supposed curse were und are greatly embellished. Deaths that in some way could be attributed to the curse were und are highlighted, while the far greater number of people involved with the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb that went on to live long und prosperous lives are mentioned not nearly as often. Mumien in Monster High The Monster High Mumien are Mr. Mummy und the De Nile family, consisting of at least of Cleo de Nile, Nefera de Nile, und their father Ramses de Nile. Referred to in the ''Dawn of the Dance'' Tagebücher und on Facebook is the girls' uncle Tut, und the ''Monster High'' Buchserie make mention of an aunt named Nefertiti. Cleo de Nile is roughly 5,842 years old und her sister Nefera roughly 5,845 years. This means that in the Monster High universe, Ancient Egypt und its mummification practices kicked off well before they did in the real world. The De Niles are a royal family which lost its throne due to betrayal by people the family trusted.Cleo de Nile's 'School's Out' Tagebuch This presumably led to the family being mummified und entombed for nearly 6,000 years, from which Cleo emerged with a severe case of fear of the dark.Cleo de Nile's 'Basic' Tagebuch There is a small suggestion that the De Niles weren't constantly entombed und occasionally traveled abroad, but this is not confirmed.Cleo de Nile's profile At some point in the third millenium CE, Cleo's father had the family leave their tomb und relocate to the United States of America, where the family's daughters came to attend Monster High. As far as Cleo und Nefera are concerned, neither wears much bandage as they have allround flawless skin (Nefera's birth-scar excluded). This is roughly in line with Imhotep from Universal's The Mummy, but also many other Mumien in fiction, who all rely more on magic to preserve them than actual preservation techniques. Given the De Niles affinity with magic, this is not unlikely. However, the girls do need to wear some wrappings at all times or else they will disappear into dust.Cleo de Nile's Facebook profile This too is a classic mummy trait. They also both have a glass-breaking scream, though it's not known whether that is a mummy skill or is theirs for another reason. Both Cleo und Nefera have a weak spot for reptiles, which in both their cases is inspired by Ancient Egyptians' use of the Egyptian cobra as symbol of royalty. Specifically, the trait originated with Cleo, whose affinity with snakes is inspired by the real-life Cleopatra's association with snakes following her choice to use one as means of honorable suicide. At least Cleo can command snakes to do her bidding, though she makes a point out of not ever using her powers on her Gorgonen boyfriend, Deuce Gorgon. Cleo's und Deuce's relationship is also a play on the real-life Cleopatra's association with snakes. In the books, Cleo received her pet cobra, Hissette, from Deuce, who obtained her from his mother as her first grey hair. In the Tagebuch-Kontinuität, Hissette came with a shipment from the De Niles' Egyptian home. In the webisodes, the De Niles have a pond containing crocodiles in front of their house."Miss Infearmation" In addition to snakes, Nefera likes bugs,August 12, 2011 entry on Facebook und has a pet scarab named Azura. In Ancient Egypt, scarabs were associated with the sun gods Khepri und Ra due to the way they rolled a ball forth too und seemingly created themselves from dead matter as well. Nefera is also a bit of a cat enthusiast, another animal sacred to the Ancient Egyptians, which is why she is friends of sorts with the Werkatzen Toralei Stripe, Purrsephone, und Meowlody. In the books, there are seven cats in the De Nile household: Chisisi, Bastet, Akins, Ebonee, Ufa, Usi, und Miu-Miu. Cleo's und Nefera's father originally carried the implication of being either Imhotep or Kharis due to the association of the main characters with the Universal Horror line-up. The name in the books aside, too many details about the girls' father has since surfaced for him to be either. Mr. De Nile is a stern man who believes in his family's superiority over commoners und insists they behave worthy of their heritage. This doesn't mean Mr. De Nile is an unpleasant person: he specifically does not allow any in his family to treat the servants badlyNefera de Nile's 'Campus Stroll' Tagebuch und is very supportive of his daughters' career choices. However, he does expect both his daughters to work hard to be worthy of his support und does not want them to lose their sense of decorum in public. In den Büchern, ist er ein Antiquitätenhändler, while Cleo's Schüler-Akte reveals that he is the chairman of the MH construction committee und oversees all new building plans. Cleo de Nile is strongly based on the real-life Cleopatra. Aside from the snake theme, Cleo's student file mentions she excels in Dead Languages. The real-life Cleopatra was the only one in her family to ever bother to learn another language than Ancient Greek, und she mastered some ten languages if not more. In contrast, Nefera doesn't appear to be modeled after a particular pharaoh but be a mixture. Nefera's name, emphasized beauty und blue hair in a high tail evoke Nefertiti, a queen of Ancient Egypt of whom a bust remains. The bust is considered to represent an ideal of beauty und has Nefertiti wearing a high blue crown. The similarities end with the appearance though. Nefera's profile states that she believes she does not have to learn other languages as long as she has servants who can translate for her - a sentiment prominent in the real-life Cleopatra's family. As per nineteenth century mummy fiction customs, the De Niles possess a large collection of enchanted items which they can use for a variety of goals. Especially Cleo is prone to resort to using them, though she has come to understand that the items' usage is not a free deal. Most of the De Niles' items are cursed und come with a nasty payback if used too much."Idol Threat" These paybacks have included: the disappearance of Cleo's hair, the unleashing of frog und gnat infestations - Alt-Ägyptische plagues mentioned in The Exodus, und a pizza slice brought to life. Each idol has a name which holds a pun on the name of a real-life pharaoh: the Statue of Notalotincommon is a play on the name of Tutankhamun, while the Amulet of Knuck'n'nothin' is a play on the name of Akhenaten. In their everyday life, the De Niles are assisted by servants resembling Anubis, the protector god of the dead in Ancient Egypt. These servants are presumably ushabtis, Alt-Ägyptische statues buried with the dead to follow them into the afterlife und serve them. A running theme in the De Nile family is, of course, the Nile. In Ancient Egypt, the Nile was a sacred river because only near was life in Egypt possible. The rest of the land was too dry und warm for anyone to survive. As a result, the Nile Delta, where Egypt is at its most beautiful und comfortable, is how the Ancient Egyptians envisioned the afterlife kingdom to look like. Aside from the family name, the Nile theme is what Nefera's beauty is designed around, which is described as "timeless like the blue of the eternal Nile."Nefera de Nile's profile Since moving to the USA, Cleo has become a rain enthusiast due to water und thus rain being in scarce in Egypt. While Cleo's fondness of geometry is probably a simple reference to Alt-Ägyptische Pyramiden, it is possible the idea goes a little further. One of the main adults of the franchise, Mr. Mummy, is a math teacher und has studied at the Alexandria Institute of Technology M.S., Euclidian Geometry. This references Euclid, who is also known by the title "Father of Geometry". Euclid did much to further the understanding of geometry, und was partially able to do so due to the intellectual environment created in Alexandria by the Ptolemaic dynasty, of which the real-life Cleopatra was a member. Cleo und Nefera have a habit of holding their arms in a twodimensional pose, which mimics the figures in Alt-Ägyptische art und hieroglyphs. Mr. Mummy does not have this habit, though admittedly he has not appeared much yet. Also, both girls occasionally hold their arms crossed over their chest in the so-called 'Osiris position'."Why We Fright""Hyde und Shriek" This is counter to real-life Alt-Ägyptische tradition that only allowed the male ruler to be depicted or mummified in that position. Female rulers had to do with a 'semi-Osiris position', which saw only their left arm folded over their chest. It isn't clear whether in the Monster High universe Mumien still possess their organs, which were often removed und stored in jars during the mummification process in the real world. If Cleo does not have her brain anymore, which was in real-life often destroyed because the Ancient Egyptians didn't think it had a purpose, her friendship with Ghoulia could be a play on that, since both Mumien und Zombies are associated with brains. Also in relation to Monster High mummy anatomy, there is a medical situation called mummingitis that supposedly only affects Mumien. It is a pun on meningitis, but presumably is a completely different disease. It's a dream of Ghoulia's to one day find a cure for it."Why Do Ghouls Fall In Love?" "Wusstest du schon, dass...?"-Fakten * Ricky könnte als Eis-Mumie bezeichnet werden. * The Nefertiti bust was the inspiration for the iconic hairdo of the Bride in Bride of Frankenstein. * The throne name of Ramses II is Usermaatre Setepenre, which in Ancient Greek sources is transliterated into Ozymandias. Percy Bysshe Shelley, the husband of Mary Shelley und the person who encouraged her to turn Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus into a true novel, was inspired by the reputation of Ramses II to write the sonnet Ozymandias, which is about the notion that even the greatest of might is temporarily. Both novel und sonnet were published in 1818. * In ihr Nekrocon Tagebuch, Ghoulia Yelps states that it is her dream to acquire a time machine und visit the Library of Alexandria. The Library of Alexandria was built und maintained by the Ptolemaic dynasty, of which Cleopatra VII was a member. Referenzen External links * Mr. Mummy Goes to Hollywood * Mummy Medicine * Pharaonic Egypt Kategorie:Hintergrundwissen Kategorie:Mumien